Vijayawada: Govt burdening Dalits with power tariff hike says CPM executive member Chigurupati Babu Rao

Vijayawada : (NTR District) The government has been conspiring to remove the power subsidy up to 200 units being given to the people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Tribes, alleged CPM executive member Chigurupati Babu Rao.

Addressing the media at SriSri Bhavan on 'cut in power subsidy' here on Sunday, Babu Rao said that the CPM is condemning the withdrawal of subsidies on power tariff to SC, ST and BC communities. With the abolition of subsidies, burden of Rs 600 crore per annum would be imposed on Dalits and Girijans, he pointed out.

Babu Rao recalled that the government had issued orders No 91 and 94 in July 2019 stating that power charges would not be collected from the SC and ST communities, who consume less than 200 units, but now the government is looking for excuses to withdraw those concessions.

He said that the government announced that 1.29 lakh connections in Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam districts with a single Aadhaar number should pay the power bills from this month onwards. He took exception to the government argument that the concession would be applicable to the Scheduled caste communities who live in the SC colonies only. "They are SCs whether they live in the urban areas or the SC colonies. This is nothing but discrimination," he asserted.

The conditions that if the house was built in more than 100 square yards or two connections on a single Aadhaar number are only excuses to withdraw subsidy, the CPM leader demanded withdrawal of such conditions immediately. Moreover, the condition to submit caste certificate is meaningless, he added.

Stating that if power consumption exceeds 300 units, the officials are withdrawing the ration, he wondered how could they link power consumption to welfare programmes. Babu Rao alleged that the State government was implementing all these rules only at the behest of the Central government.

The government is doing gross injustice to the farmers by fixing the metres to the agriculture pump sets and also not giving the power subsidies to the Nayee Brahmins and Rajaka communities. Though the people are already burdened with power tariff hike, the government is contemplating to impose true-up charges.

He said that dharna would be staged before the Collectorate in Guntur on Monday demanding continuation of power subsidy to the SC and the ST communities.